E65 — Nicholas Thompson

Legendary Canadian alpinist Barry Blanchard just dropped his second book of climbing tales: The Echo – Stories From The Edge Of Survival. Recounting the second half of a lifetime of adventures, big expeditions, gnarly solo missions, and that time he had to rig a safety line to Sylvester Stallone's ankle (and messed it up the first time!). Host Feet Banks connects with a true legend of the mountains and our first "Order of Canada" award-winning guest. Get more info on the book and tour here, and be warned: Feet and Barry drop a couple F-bombs in this episode (Feet also mispronounces the world "palpable" in the intro!!) Parental discretion is advised.

Ray Zahab does the kinds of adventures few other people would ever want to do: A 7500 km traverse of the Sahara Desert, a -40 degree winter stroll across Ellesmere Island, Death Valley, the Gobi Desert, the South Pole, Patagonia, Kamchatka, etc. etc. But Ray’s real passion is connecting youth to the sorts of amazing places and people he has met throughout these adventures though his charity impossible2Possible. Host Feet Banks catches Ray during some downtime at his home in Quebec to dig into what drives over three decades of huge, ultra adventure. rayzahab.com

2025 Canadian Geographic Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Maxime Légaré-Vézina is based out of Quebec city and has been shooting photos of wildlife since about 2014, and full time since 2022. Sometimes he sits in the weather all day and waits for the perfect shot, sometimes a grizzly bear charges him. We dig into  all the Max's favourite animals, and what kind of mindframe and work it takes to capture them in their natural elements. Check his website to see his beautiful work!

Host Feet Banks kicks off season six of Live it Up with Mountain Life by speaking to his favourite snowboarder and medieval sword enthusiast, Jess Kimura. A celebrated badass street rider, Jess is a fearless force of positive change for her sport, founding both The Uninvited video series and The Uninvited Invitational all-women's shred comp. She stops by in person to talk about that, firewood BTUs and, of course, animal memes. (Warning: a few profane words in this episode. It's chill though)

Nicholas Thompson is an author and a journalist, a musician, and one of the smartest people we know. But before and beyond that, Nick is a runner.  Marathons, ultramarathons, cross country, ripping around a park with a kid, running to work, rain, fog, sleet, hail. Nick is ready to hit the trail. And he has new book out called The Running Ground: A Father, A Son, and the Simplest of Sports. Host Feet Banks digs into that, writing, Nick's secret to productivity and more! nickthompson.com

Veronica Woodruff is an outdoor recreationalist and an environmental scientist. She's spend more than half her life living in the mountains of BC, and her latest book, Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at Our Boozy Culture examines the unique role alcohol plays, not only in mountain culture and ski town, but in western society at large. A mix of pertinent personal anecdotes and memoir with well-researched studies and history, Blind Drunk walks the fine line of introspection and engagement without stumbling into judgment or shame. blinddrunk.ca

Taylor Godber is a professional big mountain snowboarder on the North Face team. She’s also a chef, an artist, a writer, a lover of dogs, surfer, adventurer, picnic-er, and a very kind soul.  Taye was the founding editor of Mountain Life: Below Zero our annual winter publication that Covid shut down. Nowadays we see her in the pages of Mountain Life shredding steep, exposed lines on dream trips into crazy zones throughout the Coast Mountains. Feet Banks catches up with day just as winter is (finally) starting to arrive in Whistler. Check out Taye's Instagram.

A true adventurer, Matt is a climber, surfer, paddler, and mad-genius tinkerer/inventor/self-taught engineer who's company Sea to Sky Cable Cam has helped him travel the world to help capture top adventure and nature stories. To mix it up, this month we also have climber/Mountain Lifer Trevor McDonald in the studio joining the conversation to chime in with his own insights and questions. This is our longest pod yet, let's go! Check out Matt's website to dig deeper. .

Ben Poechman is a snowboarder and an artist and a true-grit farm kid who finds a way to make things happen with the resources he's got. As summer winds down and we start looking at the pow days to come, Ben chimes in with his story, his ideas, and some good advice on what to do when all you have to ride is a crappy ditch in the middle of the country. Watch Ben in the North Face flick Halation if you wanna see him shred before listening to this pod, or look at his artwork on Soulboarder.caWarning: This pod has a few instances of profanity. 

Spencer Seabrooke is an airtime master, a highliner, base jumper, a snowboarder, climber, mountaineer, jindle boarder and all-around adventure seeking kinda dude. And he knows a lot about airtime. In 2016 he was featured in the highlining documentary "Untethered" walking a then-world record highline in Squamish BC with no safety tether. He's also known as a co-founder of SlacklifeBC, Canada's best slack line community/shop, and has a bonkers-awesome instagram feed you definitely want to check out. Host: Feet Banks